Better Than Pamprin
by arianacabello
Summary: Tori's going through a pretty rough time, with cramps and whatnot. Can Beck, of all people, help her out? Oneshot.


Victoria Vega loved life.

She loved everything about it. She loved acting, and sunshine, and daffodils, and the beach, and crayons, and smiley faces, and springtime, and kittens, and Coca-Cola, and Hollywood Arts, and sunsets, and palm trees, and dogs, and plaid shirts, and mascara, and crossword puzzles, and midnight blue nail polish, and polka dots, and dancing, and flowers, and laughter. She loved her friends, and family, and her annoying older sister, and her Golden Retriever Summer, and animated movies that had messages. She loved Andre, and Cat, and Robbie, and Beck; she even loved the girl who used to be so mean to her. She could name a thousand things she loved about life.

She didn't hate very much. She was a generally happy and optimistic person and could hardly ever be found in a bad mood. However, on May 25, 2013, it is to be noted, that Tori Vega was in a spectacularly terrible mood.

Terrible.

In fact, if zooming in on the young actress, one would find her, at 4:31 pm, at rehearsal, saying in a very polite manner to her costar Cat,

"_YOU'RE SUCH A BITCH, AND THIS IS A STUPID PLAY AND YOUR HAIR ISN'T REALLY THAT RED!_"

So yes, she was in a rather unusually terrible mood. Well, not so unusual, really, as her friends had come to understand. In fact, Tori Vega, Hollywood Arts' exploding ball of sunshine (Jade's name for the brunette had spread to become more endearing than mean), was not very sunny at a certain time every month.

Tori Vega could name thousands of things she loved about life, and one she hated. She despised her period.

This was why Cat Valentine didn't bother to get offended by such an insult— it should be noted that later that night she re-dyed her hair, however. During the rehearsal though, she merely shook her head and told Sikowitz she couldn't work with Tori on the twenty-fifth of the month.

Ever.

Tori, angry before, was now very upset. ("Mood swings," Cat had proclaimed with a giggle.) Currently, she was lying, curled up in the fetal position on the bathroom floor behind the Blackbox Theater, holding back tears.

Which brings us to the real reason Tori hates her period.

It hurts like fucking hell.

Tori's cramps were terrible. Terrible. Worse than the bad mood she was in ten minutes earlier, and the cause of that mood too. Her cramps were like someone was putting a hammer to her abdomen, someone was repeatedly slinging cannonballs at her, someone had reached inside her and twisted her insides into unbreakable knots. Her cramps always ended up with her curled into a ball around the toilet, attempting not to vomit from the pain.

And the worst part?

Tori couldn't swallow pills.

She'd tried everything. Tried with water and without. Tried distracting herself, or crushing them up. None of it worked. She had a psychological barrier to the pills. She just wouldn't swallow them. Which left her in a pained heap on the bathroom floor, holding back tears of sheer frustration.

Cat had long abandoned her co-star, sniffing with frustration, "Oh, not this again," leaving Tori feeling very sad, very alone, and very much in pain.

She sat up with a determined expression. She would swallow that pill. Pamprin would not get the best of her, again. She would not wait so long to swallow it that it dissolved in her mouth, the medicinal taste causing her to gag and throw up again. She wouldn't. She would be strong and independent and swallow the pill. She would do it.

She was pouring herself her fourth glass of water in preparation for swallowing the pill, when she heard a knock at the door. Not in the mood to deal with anyone, she left it. Because, she knew of course, who it would be. There was only one person that somehow showed up at the worst times.

"Tor-aaaaa!"

Beck Alexander Oliver.

"Guess who got the two leads in _Uptown, Downtown_? I'll give you three guesses."

She would just ignore him. He had to go away eventually. Besides, she was going to swallow that pill, and nothing was going to stop her. She would not fall for his distractions! Even though he was a rather attractive distraction…

'Oh crap, I'm in so much pain I've gone mental,' she thought and bit her lip. 'How did he even know where I was? I'm in a bathroom far away from any of their classes!'

"Nope, it's not whatever you were probably thinking. I guess you'll just have to try again, Tori."

Okay. She would just put the pill in her mouth, on the back of her tongue, and drink the water. And she would simply swallow the pill with the water. The pill would go down her throat and stop the insanely painful cramps. It would work.

She could do this.

"Sorry, Tori, it's not that stupid green haired dude that's been hitting on you either. I don't know why you think he's any good frankly. Oh, and I saw you looking at him. Why were you looking at him like that? He's not a good actor, Tori. And he's ugly. He has green hair! And I don't know what you see in him, Tori, because he's not good enough for you."

Tori looked at herself in the mirror with a determined expression. The pill was in her mouth. She took a drink of the water. She would swallow the pill now. She would let it pass down her throat. She would swallow it.

Damnit, why wouldn't she swallow it?

It was starting to taste awful again, the Pamprin taste creeping at the back of her mouth, tingling on her tongue. She would ignore it and swallow the pill. She would not let her gag reflex get the best of her, again.

She really wouldn't.

"Not that I care, you know, about whether he's good enough for you. I mean, it's not even that I don't care; it's that I don't even think about. Because why would I think about that? Right? I mean, you can look at whatever guy you like. Just not that one. Or the other guys. Or really, anyone at this school, because they're all jerks. Not that I care if you like a jerk. Or anyone. I don't care if you like anyone – Tori? What was that noise? Are you okay?"

"That noise" as Beck kindly put it, was Tori's gag reflex getting the best of her again. Damnit, why did every pill make her vomit?

Tori slumped on the ground, spent. She was sick, and tired, and frustrated, and Beck was right in front of her. Since when was Be k right in front of her? How did he get through the door? She had locked the door and the only other person who had the keys was…

Her dizzy gaze landed on the keys Jade had stolen from the janitor a long time ago, lying on the counter. Ah. Beck had unlocked it. Well. That made more sense.

Well, no, she reminded herself, it didn't. Why was Beck even here? And what had he been going on about? Jason?

"Tori?" he said, his voice unexpectedly gentle and full of concern. He pushed a strand of hair back from her face. "What's wrong?"

That was a funny question, Tori thought dizzily. What wasn't wrong?

This thought led Tori into a dramatic inner tirade against the world, only interrupted by Beck stumbling backwards, looking pale. Light-headedly, Tori turned her gaze to what had made the Canadian so startled, and… disgusted?

Ah, she noted, bursting into laughter. The box of tampons on the counter. Jade must have left them there for her before storming out of the room.

Beck turned towards her indignantly, although his eyes softened at her laugh. "It's not funny."

"Yes," she smiled, amused. "It really is. Calm down, Beck, it's just my period. Every girl has it."

Looking mildly horrified at Tori's previous statement, Beck glanced around the room, attempting to find a way to change the subject. "Um, so, why are you curled up around the toilet?" he asked, a glint of mischief and faint concern lighting his eyes. "Are you sick?"

Tori rolled her eyes. "I feel like I've been hit by a truck. On a freeway. Repeatedly."

His eyes grew larger as he sat down in front of her, biting his lip. "Do you have a cold? Should I get you soup or something?"

She laughed. "Beck, I'm not sick. How oblivious are you? Haven't you dealt with this before with Jade?"

Beck's expression instantly turned confused, eyebrows furrowing together. "But you said…."

Tori sighed, and grabbed the box of tampons, waving them in his face. Beck instantly flushed. "Ah," he choked out, fiddling with his sleeves.

"I have terrible cramps," she explained to him lightly. "I feel a cross between being stabbed in the stomach by a thousand knives, fifty cannibals eating out my abdomen, someone injecting me with lethal poison, and being socked repeatedly in the stomach by a professional wrestler."

Beck's eyes widened, as he scratched his head. "That sounds really terrible," he said gently. "Can I do anything? Get you a pill or something?"

Tori couldn't help it; she burst into hysterical laughter.

"Hey!" he said immediately, eyes wide. "What's so funny?"

But Tori didn't stop laughing. She was on her back, her hair pooling out on the bathroom floor, side pressed into the toilet, Beck cross-legged beside her, shaking with laughter. Slowly, she calmed herself enough to look Beck in the eye, and biting her lip sheepishly, explain, "I can't swallow pills."

He looked at her in disbelief. "Very funny. You can't pull one over on me, Vega." He was using Jade's nickname for her and she knew he was confused.

Tori rolled her eyes, sitting up. "Au contraire, I'm not lying. I cannot swallow a pill. I throw up when I try."

Beck raised his eyebrow, slowly considering her expression. "Seriously?" he asked.

Tori nodded with a sigh, expecting Beck to offer some other solution – chewable pills (which did not take away the pain), liquid pain relief (which did not exist), or the mere cheer of his presence (which was kind of nice—no, wait, what was she thinking?).

Instead, Beck burst out in hysterical laughter, until he was the one lying on the floor, Tori looking down at him in annoyance.

"It's not funny," she insisted. "Do you know how much it sucks that I can't swallow pills?"

Beck shook his head, slowly sitting up. "Tori, how old are you? Seriously. I can't believe you can't swallow pills. Jade would have a field day."

Tori's eyes rolled again. "Jade knows. She's the one who's been helping me through it every time."

"Oh," Beck said with a sigh. "I didn't know you were that close." Tori bit her lip. "Just… try to take another pill."

Tori sighed. "I've tried everything Beck. I can't swallow it, okay? I should just give up and go to bed."

Beck shook his head, grabbing the pill box. "Where's that famous Vega optimism, Tori? You can do this."

Tori knew how this would go, but she played along. She took the box from him, and let one Super-Strength pill fall into her palm. "What brilliant idea do you have to get me to swallow this?" she asked him lightly.

Beck chewed on his lip in thought. Then his eyes lit up. "Just put the pill in your mouth," he said mischievously.

"Beck…" Tori began, wary of the look on his face.

"Just do it, Tor."

Sighing, Tori put the pill in her mouth, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "Alright Beck," she said around the pill, "what are you—"

She didn't manage to finish her sentence before his lips were on hers.

Surprise wasn't a big enough word for what she was feeling, but despite the fact that she was sitting frozen in place, he kept kissing her. His lips were warm and God, he tasted amazing. She could feel butterflies in her stomach replacing cramps. She swallowed, hard, and began to kiss him back.

If she wanted to be honest, she'd thought about kissing Beck before. In fact, she'd thought about it a lot. She was a girl who daydreamed a lot, and recently, Beck and his lips were featured prominently in those daydreams.

Tori knew nothing came out of daydreams – real life could never compare. And she was right. Kissing Beck in real life was nothing like kissing him in daydreams. Kissing Beck in real life was, well…

It was fifty times better.

He gently pulled away from her, gasping for breath. In fact, Beck noted, she was pretty close to breathless herself, and she could feel how flushed her cheeks were.

Beck, however, was also wearing a triumphant smile. "What?" Tori asked, confused.

"It worked," he explained with a grin. "I was right."

"What worked?" she asked, having no idea what he was talking about as her lips tingled.

"You swallowed the pill," Beck grinned. "I thought that maybe it was like hiccups. If the person got surprised…"

Tori forced herself to smile, feeling an abject sense of disappointment. He kissed her to make her swallow the pill; to surprise her. Nothing more than that.

"That's great, Beck," she muttered, attempting to sound cheerful.

"You know what this means, right?" Beck continued, with a dazzling smile.

_Of course_, Tori thought. _It means that you didn't actually want to kiss me, it means nothing at all_.

"It means," Beck went on, "that I'm going to have to kiss you every time you have to swallow a pill. You know, out of the goodness of my heart, to help relieve your pain. And think of the number of pills you'll need. Advil, and Tylenol, and Pamprin…"

Tori felt the disappointment dissolve, and a smile break out on her face. "You know," she said. "Pamprin really doesn't work that well, so I've heard. But I'm going to be in so much pain, I might need to be surprised. You know, distracted…"

"Are you suggesting," Beck said with a grin, pushing a strand of brown hair behind her ear, "that I'm better than Pamprin?"

"I don't know," Tori said with a smile. "Kiss me again, and I'll see."

Beck was more than happy to do the honors.

And this is where we leave Victoria Vega– in a fierce liplock with Beck Oliver on her bathroom floor. And from this day forward, even Jade felt that she could deal with Tori on the twenty-fifth of the month. At least she didn't have to deal with Tori lying next to the toilet crying anymore. All she had to put up with was a great deal of kissing with Beck.

Which, as Jade saw it, was a slight improvement.

And so life would continue. Victoria Vega would continue to love life. She would continue to love a thousand things – sorry, a thousand and one things – about life. She would still love acting, and sunshine, and daffodils, and the beach, and crayons, and smiley faces and so on, but after October 25, 2011, she would also add Beck Oliver to that list.

The top of that list, to be exact.

* * *

**This was on my Tumblr like, five months ago. I deleted it (the blog, I mean) but I thought I'd bring it back around. :)**

**-Aac**


End file.
